


Level Up

by Purpledragon6



Category: Glitch Techs
Genre: Coming of Age, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22992274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpledragon6/pseuds/Purpledragon6
Summary: Drabble series for Netflix's Glitch Techs, centered around the team trying to navigate not only their jobs, but growing up as well.Minor MikoxFive in later chapters.
Comments: 38
Kudos: 126





	1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Heres chapter 1: Sick Day Shenanigans.**_

* * *

Miko groaned in anguish as she stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom. Her throat was sore, her head was pounding, and her nose was so stuffed up it was near suffocating! There was only one diagnosis she could give herself:

"I'm dying..." 

"No. You're not dying, you just have a cold." Her mother snapped. "Your medicine will kick in shortly."

Ah, her mother... A lovely and caring woman... Except now when she planned on LEAVING her deathly ill child home alone for a "work related emergency"! Or something like that. Miko's ears had been too stuffed to hear her properly. 

"I have to finish a few things at work- and then pick up your brothers and sisters from school and drive them a few places, then I'll be home." Her mother went on. 

"So you're just going to leave me sick in bed, all alone, and unable to reach the TV remote!?" Miko whined, tossing an arm over her face. "Does my frail health mean NOTHING to you, mother!?"

"Enough." The older woman snapped, "I already called your friend. He said he would come by after his shift to check on you."

Instantly Miko perked up a tiny bit. She almost considered sitting up slightly to express her joy. A best friend power-up was just what she needed right now! 

"He'll be over in an hour." 

And then that bubble of joy was popped and Miko laid back down. What was she supposed to do for an hour? She was- dare she say it- too sick and dizzy to play a video game, and the remote to the TV was all the way on the nightstand next to her head- She felt as though she would die of boredom before the cold got her first!

Her mother seemed to sense her distress, and walked over to the bedside table and handed her the remote.

"Why don't you take a nap in that time?" She suggested, kissing Miko's forehead gently. "Just take it easy and feel better."

"Okay, mama." A nap did sound good right about now.

"Good. I'll see you after work."

And with that, the older woman turned quickly and headed out the bedroom door, leaving Miko to suffer alone for the next hour-

Or at least for the next few minutes before the Nightquil blessed Miko with some sound sleep. 

* * *

The first thing Miko noticed as she awoke was the smell of- well, actually she still couldn't smell, but she definitely felt the presence of a cheeseburger being waved around in front of her face. 

"Miko? Hey? Miko?" And that voice- sounding distant and far away to her ears but beautiful nonetheless-

"FIVE!" Miko exclaimed despite her scratchy throat. Her eyes opened wide and instantly she sat up- and then laid back down because moving too fast made her dizzy.

But more on that later- her Power-Up had arrived!

"Oh geez- Five! You're here! What did you bring me?" She asked, kicking her legs under the sheets happily. 

She spotted the bag the dark haired boy was holding and recognized it as a bag from his grandparents' food truck. Which she almost found strange, as she knew the presence of a cheeseburger when she felt it in her soul. 

"Abuela made you something when she found out you were sick." Five explained, gently placing the bag in her lap. "I told her cheeseburgers were your favorite, so she gave it her best shot to make-"

Miko didn't even let him finish. The moment the bag was on her lap was she tearing it apart. A lovingly made burger and homemade frenchfries, all still warm- her mouth was already watering and she felt 16% better. 

"Your grandma rocks!" She felt like crying. Everyone knows grandma made food was the best medicine ever!

Miko wasted even less time in shoving a handful of french fries in her mouth. This also gave Five a chance to finish the burger's origin story. 

"Yeah- she was really worried about you." Five said, picking a spot on the corner of Miko's bed and sitting down. "Not as worried as BITT though- he wanted to come with to do a full body scan!"

"That silly robot. Did you tell him its just a cold?" That sounded hypocritical for some reason- but Miko couldn't figure out why. 

"I did. The guys told him not to worry." The boy laughed, "But I guess we were all on edge since you never get sick."

"Ugh, I know... This is the last time I walk home from work in the cold without a jacket!" Miko promised between big bites of her food.

"You should've known doing that would have gotten you sick!" Her partner exclaimed, a soft laugh lining his words. 

"Hush up. I live and I learn." Miko muttered, halting in her chewing to stiffle a little yawn.

"Oh, right- I woke you up." Five noted as he slid off of her bed to stand, "You probably want to go back to sleep?"

Nope.

"No way! I wanna hang out with my bestie until the cold medicine and full tum inevitably knock me out again!" 

"Okay, okay." Five laughed, "What does the patient want to do before that happens?" 

"I'd say video games... But I'm a little too dizzy to play those..." Miko muttered, now sadly stuffing the last of the burger into her mouth.

"How about a movie then? Your mom said you had some good ones on the DVR?" Five suggested, and once again Miko felt herself perk up. 

"Yes! Great idea, Five!" 

Within minutes, Miko found herself with her head on Five's shoulder as he sat on the floor next to her. Some corny sci-fi action film played on loudly around her, but she still felt her eyes growing heavy again. She was still sick,but feeling much better, with even 70% of her nose-breathing restored! 

It seemed like Five did provide her with a sufficient enough Power-Up- but right down powering down didn't sound so bad either. So with a final glance up at the TV, Miko snuggled back into her blankets and drifted back off to sleep to charge up. 


	2. Babysitter Rumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko and Five babysit Lee with- Results.

_**A/N: Five's POV** _

* * *

"FIVE! GO FOR HIS LEGS!" 

On the field, Five liked to think of himself as cool, calm, and collected. He faced Glitches head on, and (reasonably) laughed in the face of (not immediate) danger. Espeically with Miko at his side. 

He often felt they were prepared for anything- 

"FIVE! GET OVER HERE AND HELP ME!"

Except this wasn't the field and their foe wasn't a glitch. It was situations like this that Five felt a justified response to was to hide under Miko's diningroom table, armed with a a pair of kitchen tongs. 

"What good would I be!?" Five yelped, narrowly dodging a swift kick from Miko's little brother. "I've never changed a pull-up before!"

"Neither have I! So help me!" Miko called, trying to wrestle with the unhappy toddler. 

Dodging yet another kick, Five backed out from under the table and staggered to his feet. It seemed that in the struggle, but tot had no only suceeded in removing his own pull-up, but was now proudly wearing it as a hat. This was something the glitch-techs probably would have found to be hilarious if it was happening to anyone else but themselves. 

"We should have done this in the bathroom- he needs a bath." This time Five recieved a swift kick in the leg from Miko.

"We WERE in the bathroom but SOMEONE forgot to lock the door!" Miko groaned, jamming an angry finger into Five's chest. 

As she did, the little one managed to slip away from her grasp and ran off, giggling wildly as the pair watched him in horror.

"Um... You go left and I'll go right...?" Five muttered. 

Miko's angered expression told him to just "run and grab the dang kid before I kill you". That was all he needed to see before taking off down the hall with a passing "Why did I agree to this?" As he did. 

Oh- thats right. Because Hinobi was hosting a Gamer Con at one of their other branches- one hour drive from home- and with their own company van in the shop Miko's mom had so generously agreed to drive them both there... On the ONE condition that they babysit for her. 

"What a scam! Phil could have driven us!" Miko groaned suddenly, 

"I was just thinking about that- funny how we're on the same wavelength." Five called back.

"Five, less chatting about our mind-reading powers and more CATCHING MY LITTLE BROTHER!" 

With an audible gulp, Five picked up his pace and practically wished they were out on the field catching Glitches. There they were both in their element- they got along then, they had time to joke about their situation, before dropping off their gear back at work...

AND at least then Mitch Williams could just show up at the last second and capture the little poop glitch! 


	3. Miko Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It had been ten years..."

"Its been ten years..."

Maybe it had been longer. She had lost track of the days. The mornings and nights had blended together onto a sickening, neverending swirl of dread and longing. And whats worse, she was the only one who felt it. People had come and gone in and out of her life, all without knowing the agony she was in. 

Miko was beginning to forget as well. What his beautiful face looked like, the feel of his hair, the sound of his laughter. Things that once made up her beloved companion were now fading from her memory...

Even Alley had noticed his absence in their lives and she became affected by it as well. The once bouncy bird didn't seem to want to play anymore. She wouldn't eat the special treats Miko had tried to give her. The bird would only look for quiet places to sleep now. It was agonizing for Miko to watch.

She knew it was hopeless, but somewhere, deep inside her soul, she wished. Hoped and wished to see Hi-Five step through those doors again. To greet him as he waltzed into the Hinobi store, still fixing his nametag and smiling that same goofy smile she had so come to love... 

All the things she would NEVER see again...

"Miko, are you still sulking?" Zahra's voice pulled Miko from her train of thought. "You know Five's only been gone for like 20 minutes?"

"Has it been that long...?" Miko groaned, her heart growing heavy once more, "I already miss the sound of his voice!" 

From the corner of her eye, Miko spotted Phil. He had just stopped restocking and was now rolling his eyes in her direction. 

"Hes at the dentist. Kid said he'd be back in an hour." Phil said, "And if you ladies aren't busy doing anything, there's plenty to restock-"

Miko sprung up from her spot at the counter. How could Phil be so blind to things!? 

"Phil, my poor companion isn't just "at the dentist"! Hes getting BRACES!" Miko exclaimed, grabbing Phil by his shirt sleeves. "Can you imagine the horror!? The pain he must be in!?"

A little dramatic- but usually Miko had Five to tell her that! How could she confirm she was being dramatic without him!?

"...Considering I work customer service, yes. I can imagine the pain perfectly." Phil sighed, gently knocking Miko's hands away. "At any rate- he'll be fine... Why are you getting so bent out of shape over this?"

Truth be told, Miko was worried. Worried about how different Five would look, how uncomfortable he would be, HOW LONG SHE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE HIM, but more importantly, she was worried about being worried.

Five was special to her. He understood her and always kept her grounded whenever the going got tough. He helped her to reach goals and dreams she didn't think possible, and by now she owed him so much that-

"Hey! Welcome back Five. Did your appointment end early?" Zahra's voice once again pulled Miko back to reality. 

Without thinking, Miko shoved passed both Phil anf Zahra to get a better look, and sure enough there was Hi-Five. His hair was a little messier than usual and while he did look pained, Miko would take it. 

"Yeah- we were the first ones in." Five replied, smiling an unusually lopsided smile and now sporting- purple and blue braces. With pink bands!

"FIVE!" Miko exclaimed, tackle hugging the boy. "I missed you! You were gone forever! And look at you now! You look so different!"

"Ow- Its nice to see you too, Miko." Five winced, and Miko lightened up her hug. 

Pulling back, she then grabbed her friend's face for a better look at him. She was determined to commit his face to memory this time, braces included. 

"Um- what are you-"

"Hush. I'm examining you." Miko replied, adding in a quick "I like the colours you picked." 

"Well- I was going to get green- but the blue looked cool too- and then they had this purple colour that matched your hair-" for that, Five received another hug from Miko. 

"Aww! Now we match! Except its your mouth that matches my hair- which is kind of weird- but sweet." Miko smiled, hugging her friend tighter.

"Um- did something happen? You're hugging me prettg tightly." Five asked, "Kinda hard to breathe-"

"Hush. I've waited ten years for this hug." Miko replied.

Unbeknownst to her though, Phil had once again halted his restocking to roll his eyes. This time in the direction of both of them. 

"He was only gone for 20 min- Oh nevermind."

Yes, Nevermind indeed. 


	4. The Tutorial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko and Five have to complete the tutorial, and Miko has a LOT to say about those 8 hours.

_**A/N: TBA.** _

* * *

"Phil is a liar." 

The first three hours had been unbelievably slooooow, and the next five- well. While the last four flew by, the final hour seemed to stretch on for a million and a half years!

"Its just another hour, Miko. We can make it." Five said, his tone lacking its *much* earlier pep.

Miko could see the tiredness in his eyes just as much as she could hear it in his voice. Five wasn't just bored, he was also wiped out from the day. It made sense. Miko usually had enough energy to pass between the two of them, but the tutorial has zapped her spare energy supply. She only had enough for herself now.

"Five, you look ready to drop dead." Miko muttered, glancing up at Helpy's helpful clock, "Ugggh! We had 56 minutes left 56 minutes ago!" 

"Come on. Its not that much longer, and when we get done, we'll be offical Glitch Techs." Nope. Not helping. "And we would have been done sooner if you hadn't rebooted the computer."

"And we would have restarted sooner if you hadn't played Nobi Gross Out instead!" She groaned, "Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one!?"

"That may be- Wait- I'm the responsible one?" Five asked, for once breaking away from the turtorial to look at Miko, "Since when? I mean- I know I'm usually the "plans" guy, but that doesn't make me responsible-"

"Five, you've *always* been the responsible one out of the two of us. Think about it- You have two jobs, you take care of your family, you always make time for school, work, AND video games- You also know how to pick your battles." Miko let a smile pass her lips, "Thats more than I can say for me. So yeah- you're Mr. Responsible."

Looking up, Miko was surprised to see Five looking- confused, to say the least. He had an eyebrow raised and his mouth pressed into a thin line. 

"More than you can say- Miko, if it weren't for you taking initiative when you did, we never would have become Glitch Techs-" He started-

But then he paused, and though it seemed like he was trying to hide it, Miko could hear him click his teeth together in thought. 

"I mean- sometimes you are unfocused and headstrong, but you work hard to get the job done." Five finally concluded, now rubbing the back of his head. 

Miko couldn't help but crack up. Either Five's exhaustion was getting the better of him, or he was trying to pay her an honest compliment and realized his mistake about half way through... Or he seriously thought she was capable of being responsible. 

"Five, I ditched family day and snuck out of the house after being grounded so we could become Glitch Techs. Thats not exactly what I would call "responsible"." She laughed. 

"Yeah- but it took initiative." 

"Is that your new word? "Initiative"?" 

"No- I think the tutorial nailed it into my brain." Five sighed, "I also have that jingle about "Turn It Off And Then Back On Again" stuck in my head."

"Ew. When we get out of here, I'll wipe it from your brain if you want." 

That comment sent the two into a fit of giggles and snorts, and it lifted their spirits some. Espeically Miko's, who felt that with a friend like Five, she could totally make it through the next-

"CONGRATULATIONS CADETS!" BITT's voice made them both jump. 

"Congratulations- What are you doing here BITT?" Miko exclaimed.

"You have completed the tutorial and are now offical Glitch Techs!" BITT explained, "I am also here to tell you that your parental figures are on their way to pick you up to "celebrate" your success!"

That's right- Miko's parents had mentioned wanting to take the pair out tonight. Five's grandparents were coming along to. Miko glanced over to Five, noting his tired yet happy expression. 

"Thanks BITT- but I think Five needs a nap before we go out." Miko replied, grabbing her friend's wrist and leading him out of the training room. "Tell my parents to wait a bit."

BITT has replied with something, but Miko was only half listening. Her goal now was to be as far away from the training room as possible- and to take care of Five. 

"Miko, I'm fine." Five huffed, but Miko knew better.

"Hush up, Mr. Responsible. My parents won't mind waiting an extra hour while we rest up. Its been a long day."

"Huh. Thats a *very* responsible though, Miko." 

Once again, Miko felt a smile pass over her face. The tutorial was over with, they were offical Glitch Techs, and now they were off to nap. All three were amazing things but not enough to refill her energy supply. And she felt that she was going to need a lot of it for the evening ahead. 


End file.
